Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

For those who have experienced the early days of parenthood, they come with a brutal combination of unrelenting monotony and overwhelming love. This work captures those conficting emotions. The title, (i carry it in my heart), comes from a poem by E.E. Cummings. The poem begins:

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

For me at this time these words had two meanings: the metaphorical love I carried for my child, and the literal reality of a sleeping newborn. Most of this piece was written with my daughter asleep on my chest.

The rhythmic structures of the piece began life in the rhythm of this poem. These structures are symbolic rhythms, rather than absolute durations, and should be treated as such. In sections where the static leads, blank space on the staff should similarly be treated as symbolic silence. In these sections durations are given at the end of the system - there is no need to time these, they are there for guidance.

One of the many ways it is suggested to new parents to get a baby to sleep is by playing white noise/static. In this work the static can be generated as the performer chooses - it could be controlled through a tape track or through analogue radio static, or another means entirely. I have, in the past, used surface transducers on snare drum to create this sound to great effect.

Work Details

Year: 2018

Instrumentation: Tenor saxophone or clarinet, piano, static (electronic/tape track generated by performer's choice).

Difficulty: Advanced — Suitable for tertiary students and above

Contents note: This work has also been performed with clarinet playing the tenor saxophone line.

Dedication note: Dedicated to Lucy

Commission note: Commissioned by Soundstream Collective, Gabriella Smart.